Perspective
by Vinylshadow
Summary: Nopony knew what sparked the war, I don't think anyone cared. All I wanted to do was find a way to stop it.


Nopony remembered what had sparked the Pegasi/Unicorn War. Yet whatever it had been, it had caused the conflict to drag on for well over a decade, neither side able to gain an advantage over the other. Cities were taken and retaken, destroyed and rebuilt. The earth ponies caught in the middle of the conflict either chose a side or kept on the move away from the fighting. Even the royal sisters had been driven apart, each choosing a side in the conflict. The Princess of the Day, Celestia, sided with the pegasi and the Princess of the Night, Luna, had sided with the unicorns.

I never knew it was possible for two cities to lay siege to each other at the same time. Usually, it was one group of ponies who surrounded a city and simply waited them out. They would cut off their supply trains and starve them into submission. Since Cloudsdale was a cloud city, it was easy to move around the battlefield and send reinforcements wherever they were needed. The city under siege now was Canterlot, where Princess Luna directed the unicorn war effort. Part of me hoped this conflict would when one of the Princesses subdued the other. I peeked over the edge of a cloud and looked down at the city nestled against the side of the mountain. It was a majestic sight, all sparkling gold and ivory. Yet here we were, bringing war and death to its doorstep.

I sensed movement behind me and I whirled, wings flared. I relaxed when Princess Celestia strode into view. Her eyes went from me to the city below.

"How does it look, Midnight?" She asked, coming up beside me. I sighed and ran a hoof through my red and white mane.

"Well, it's a city of unicorns, so starving them out is going to be next to impossible. They have plenty of magic to grow crops and even if we cut off their sunlight with a cloud cover, their stores are probably very well stocked." I replied, scanning the streets below for any signs of unicorn snipers. With their magic, unicorns were very deadly at medium to long range. They could use it to aid with aiming weapons, some even being able to use multiple weapons at the same time.

To counter that, pegasi had developed a battle saddle, worn on the back. Guns could be attached to the saddle and easily manipulated with wings and hooves. A mouthpiece could also be employed to aid in firing and reloading. I wore a standard-issue dual-gun battle saddle armed with twin sniper rifles. I knew I wasn't the best shot among the pegasi, but with my black coat, I was hard to spot in the night sky.

I felt a tingle in my wings and reflexively I tackled Princess Celestia to the cloud as a bolt of magic shot past us. I quickly rolled to the edge of the cloud, bucking my hips to flip a pair of goggles over my eyes. They were synced to my rifles and wherever I looked, my rifles were aimed. A targeting crosshair appeared as I scanned the area the bolt had come from. I spied the sniper on the roof of a building, under some rather meager cover. I aimed and bit down on the mouthpiece. The sniper's head dissolved into a red mist and I swept the area looking for others. Finding none, I tossed my head back, lifting the goggles off of my eyes.

Princess Celestia stood at my side, her horn glowing as she also scanned the area below. With her magic, she could easily spot any I had missed. After a moment, the glow faded and she shook her head.

"Only the one sniper." She mused. "The rest of the ponies below are all non-combatants." I looked at her in disbelief.

"One sniper for the entire city of Canterlot?" I said slowly. "What is Luna thinking?" Celestia shook her head and turned to go.

"I'm not sure, but be careful, Midnight, this siege is far from over." I turned back to the cloud edge and scanned the area again.

Night fell and still I watched. Like any pony, unicorns came in a variety of colors and I wouldn't be surprised if they had their own black-coated snipers out at night, keeping an eye on the cloud city above them.

I felt a cold chill down my spine and I turned to see someone standing behind me. As soon as I saw the horn, I swung around fully, bringing my rifles to bear on the threat. Before I could get a shot off, however, I was enveloped in a blue aura of magic. I thrashed in the field, but couldn't break free. I felt my battle saddle fall free and I was pulled closer to the unicorn, who, on a second look, appeared to have wings.

Luna gazed at me as I hung in her grip. She let her eyes roam over me and she smiled. There was no warmth in that smile and I felt darkness pushing at the edges of my vision.

"You'll do." She purred, before her horn flashed and I fell into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
